Wells Fargo Diverse Leaders Programs
Challenge
Building a diverse and inclusive leadership team is imperative to understanding and responding to customers. Creating an environment where team members feels included, valued, and supported is essential to them feeling engaged and inspired. Engaged team members drive greater customer satisfaction and extraordinary business results. The Diverse Leaders Programs provide an opportunity for our team members who identify with certain diversity dimensions to feel included, valued, and further develop their leadership skills in order to engage, stay, and advance their careers with Wells Fargo.
Actions
The Diverse Leaders Programs, which began in 2004, is a set of uniquely designed 3-day sessions for team members who identify as Asian & Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Latino, or Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT). Each three-day program is, at the core, a leadership curriculum designed for team members to grow their leadership professionally and personally from a culturally relevant and sensitive perspective. As participants explore how their particular diversity dimension has shaped their personal leadership journey, they also learn from and build camaraderie with others who identify with the same diversity dimension. Participants reclaim and gradually embrace the strengths and competencies that have challenged them in the past—strengths highly sought amongst all leaders.
Outcomes
The more than 3,900 program alumni tell us the experience is powerful, life-changing and unlike any other. In addition to being effective, alumni would recommend the experience to others. Alumni are applying what they’ve learned, and seeing improved performance. Additional monitoring reveals that program alumni are more likely to stay with Wells Fargo than non-alumni peers and they are more likely to be promoted. The Diverse Leaders Programs are helping team members engage and grow as leaders, make stronger connections, and cultivate a culture that promotes and celebrates diversity and inclusion.
Contact
Manichan Joy Nguyen
Quote
Reaching any ambitious goal requires specific, sustained commitment from leaders and engagement from all levels of the company, including our board of directors. At Wells Fargo, D&I is a core value, and we’ve made substantial progress in areas like developing diverse leaders, growing our diverse supplier base, lending to diverse customers, and supporting diverse nonprofit partners. We are working hard to build an even better Wells Fargo and to move closer to the goals we set for ourselves — both for our own team members and for the customers we serve. Learning from other great companies is one way to make that happen.